i-TFTD Inspiring Thoughts for the Day

i-TFTD #352: Leadership Speaks

2012-01-20T17:31:00.000+05:30

#352-1.When Cicero spoke, people marveled. When Caesar spoke, people marched.
-Cato the younger, Roman politician

#352-2. Leadership is not simply speech, it is speech that makes people march.Good judgment without action is worthless.
-Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis in their 2007 book, "Judgment: How WinningLeaders Make Great Calls"

#352-3. We've already moved from management to leadership--and we're about togo beyond leadership to inspiration.
-Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide
_____

Mostof us either underrate or overrate the importance of speaking ability.Leadership is influence and what we say, how we say, when we say and what we donot say influences those around us including our subordinates. Inspiration can alsooccur through one's action (without speech), often in the context of"leading from the front".

i-TFTD #351: Flow with Talent

2012-01-18T17:14:00.002+05:30

#351-1. The kind of leadership my dad learned in World War II—where theleader makes all the decisions and tells everybody else what to do—that's theflaw in organizations.
-Scott Cook, founder and chairman of financial software maker Intuit (1952-)

#351-2. We can build organizations that are far more adaptable, far moreinspiring places to work, far more innovative than anything we've seen so far.But there's a huge ideological challenge in doing that, because inside mosthuge organizations is a bureaucratic caste that believes it's their role tomake decisions.
-Gary Hamel, management thinker and author

#351-3. Today, talented people need organizations less than organizations needtalented people.
-Daniel Pink, author of many books including "A Whole New Mind" and"Drive"

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Leaders at all levels are struggling with a dilemma on how they should approachtheir role: should they base it on what they have observed leaders do in thepast, or, should they go with what they intuitively sense is today'sexpectation? Should they go the whole hog on participative, inclusive,diversity-celebrating, empowering decision-making or are there decisions theyneed to weigh in on with their knowledge, experience, judgment and vantagepoint in the organization?

And amidst the agonies of making and fine-tuning such stylistic choices,leaders know that the talent pool they have is the critical foundation on whichbusiness success is achieved. Talented people today have multiple andoverlapping options for their careers. Have you noticed how many full-timeemployees leave their jobs in large corporations with its associated perks andthen come back to do more or less the same job as a contractor? I know manywomen who have taken a break in their careers, started their own ventures, wentback to jobs and interspersed with freelancing stints.

The biggest challenge to help leaders perform effectively in such anenvironment is for HR decision makers. Some textbook-throwing is called for,methinks.

i-TFTD #350: Rules About Rules

2012-01-05T11:46:00.001+05:30

#350-1. Pedantry and mastery are opposite attitudes toward rules. To apply a rule to the letter, rigidly, unquestioningly, in cases where it fits and in cases where it does not fit, is pedantry. To apply a rule with natural ease, with judgment, noticing the cases where it fits, and without ever letting the words of the rule obscure the purpose of the action or the opportunities of the situation, is mastery.
-George Polya, mathematician (1887-1985)

#350-2. Sure, we need rules, but remember that every rule removes a choice, and choice is the fuel for learning.
-@mwbuckingham (Marcus Buckingham, strengths guru on Twitter)

#350-3. Rules without relationship equals rebellion.
-attributed to many authors but mostly to Andy Stanley, pastor (1958-) and Joslin McDowell, Christian evangelist and writer (1939-)

____
Rules such as those codified in law are the foundation of civilization and society but it is more interesting to think about some other types of rules: assumed rules, outdated rules whose intent has become irrelevant and self-imposed rules. When our behavior is guided by unexamined rules, we find it difficult to adopt innovation and change. When we impose rules on others without building a platform of relationship and trust, we encounter resistance. Explaining the objective behind setting a rule is a necessary first step but logic alone does not suffice to convince others.

Breaking rules is a natural and essential part of growing up, of innovating, of bringing out the best of human potential. Ignorance about rules can occasionally help in generating original ideas but it is more often used as an excuse—and rarely accepted. Consistently successful rule-breakers first endeavor to know and understand rules before deciding which ones to break in which situation. When done well, this leads to new, better rules that achieve common good. Some have formulated this as a rule: Know the rules before breaking them!

i-TFTD #349: Sense and Beyond

2011-12-29T12:30:00.001+05:30

i-TFTD #349: Sense and Beyond

#349-1. The plural of anecdote is not data.
-George Stigler, American economist

#349-2. Common sense is the best distributed commodity in the world, for every man is convinced he is well supplied with it.
-Rene Descartes, French philosopher

#349-3. A man of great common sense and good taste, meaning, thereby, a man without originality or moral courage.
-George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright

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Anecdotes have a compelling way of drawing our attention to interesting ideas. Corporate storytelling is a concept gaining popularity. However, examples are not always a substitute for scientific data gathering. One author who churns our bestsellers using compelling stories and then presenting unusual statistics to bolster them is Malcolm Gladwell.

Each of us operates most of the time with what we believe to be common sense but my common sense may not be as common as I believe. Real common sense is extremely rare, a point brought out each time an exposed scam uncovers a large number of victims.

Too much of common sense and practicality is not healthy because innovation often comes from what initially appears to be a nonsensical thought.

i-TFTD #348: On Kindness (yes, for businessfolk, too)

2011-12-27T12:59:00.001+05:30

#348-1. Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.
-Bradley Miller, activist (b. 1956)

#348-2. To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.
-Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

#348-3. Kindness is a hard thing to give away; it keeps coming back to the giver.
-Ralph Scott, US Senator (1905-1983)

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Going by news reports, a number of people and institutions believe in the practice and advocacy of RAK - random acts of kindness. Most of us would have experienced being a recipient of an unexpected RAK and perhaps, even the warm feeling of doing one.

Kindness need not be confined to charitable donations and social service, it can extend to our interactions with others including colleagues.

Prof. Robert Sutton of Stanford University brought the concept of workplace bullying into prominence with his article in Harvard Business Review titled, "The No A****le Rule" and has published a wide-selling book on the topic.

i-TFTD #347: Rumination from the Front Row

2011-12-20T14:56:00.001+05:30

Over the past two weeks, I had the rare privilege to observe, at close quarters, a new business leader engage with teams, trying to grasp the contours of the challenges at hand while getting to know people; asking questions innocent and sharp, memorizing new acronyms and probing to discover the limits of available information; dissecting elements of strategy and distinguishing them from objectives; revealing and sharing to begin establishing credibility and style. One quality of this person was of special interest to me, namely, this person is a voracious reader who quotes business aphorisms and thinking frameworks—in somebody's words, this person is a walking, talking i-TFTD!

Some of the topics of discussion I witnessed has inspired this bonus edition of i-TFTD. First of all:

The next thing to saying a good thing yourself, is to quote one.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

Proverbs encapsulate wisdom. They become famous through their usefulness across time for people to recall a point and to make it effectively. They can act as shorthand to convey rich thoughts in a manner that attracts through compactness or elegance.

In a complex information gathering situation, there are plenty of disclaimers about history and incompleteness of views. But:

To a clear eye the smallest fact is a window through which the infinite may be seen.
-Thomas Henry Huxley, biologist and writer (1825-1895)

Actually we make many important decisions like hiring a person based on subjective impressions in a brief interaction. The reason for this being a popular method is that a better one has not been found. Therefore:

Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair-trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act.
-James Thurber, American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit (1894–1961)

One interesting concept I picked up was, "Questions requiring numerical answers, when responded with English, could be a sign of trouble!"

Not that clear and precise communication is easy to achieve. Because:

After all, when you come right down to it, how many people speak the same language even when they speak the same language?
-Russell Hoban, American fantasy writer (1925–2011)

Perspectives and dimensions of awareness figured in the conversation as an undercurrent. There is only so much that explanation and dialogue can achieve. Remember:

You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season.
-Zhuangzi, Chinese philosopher (370-301 BCE)

Aspects of personal and organizational change have been a perennial favorite covered in i-TFTDs before, such as i-TFTD #298: Change How We Face, i-TFTD #294: On the Difficulty of Change, i-TFTD #284: Navigating Change, i-TFTD #287: On Choosing Dots to Connect, and i-TFTD #252: On the Why and How of Change among others. Proactive change initiators are a rare breed but should constitute a necessary proportion of any performance-oriented team. As it is said:

Progress is 95 percent routine teamwork. The other 5 percent relies on restless, inner-directed people who are willing to upset our applecart with new and better ideas.
-Michael LeBouef, American business book author and professor (1942-)

While acknowledging the need for different kinds of individuals, it pays to keep in mind the strengths approach concept, which we have extensively covered earlier in i-TFTD #335: Managers Need to be Strengths-Spotters, i-TFTD #160, i-TFTD #115: Only One Move, i-TFTD #142: Don't Send Your Ducks to Eagle School, i-TFTD #79: 3 Tips to Be a Prime Mover, i-TFTD #20: Motivation + Talent = Strength and i-TFTD #10: Abolish SWOT Analysis. So finally:

The question, 'Who ought to be boss?' is like asking, 'Who ought to be the tenor in the quarter?' Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.
-Henry Ford, American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company (1863–1947)

If you like the way I connected one thing to another, you can connect with me by letting me know!

i-TFTD #346: Silicon Valley Speak

2011-12-02T15:25:00.001+05:30

Indian-born techies, entrepreneurs and recently, management professors, have achieved extraordinary success and fame over the past 25 years. Recall the statement Kumar Mangalam Birla made in a speech around 2007: As the joke in Silicon Valley runs, if a person's name is Shreedhar, don't bother checking his IT skills! Many such Indians have gone on to become venture capitalists and mentors to use the wealth and experience they have gained to help nurture others. Here are a few quotes from this community.

#346-1. You have to accept the reality of where you came from. The moment you lose that, you stop listening, stop thinking and become arrogant. Usually, you see that in successful people. People become self-destructive when they become arrogant—they over-reach, become over-ambitious and dominating.
-Ram Shriram, Indian American venture capitalist and founding director of Google, in this interview

#346-2. MNCs and government are largely irrelevant in the business of innovation. Ignore conventional wisdom in order to invent the future. My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.
-Vinod Khosla, Indian American venture capitalist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems (1955-), in this interview

#346-3. A recession is the best time to start a company. It is nev! er easy. Nothing ever happens automatically.
-Kanwal Rekhi, Indian American venture capitalist and co-founder of TiE, director at Novell Networks (1945-)

i-TFTD #345: Me And 'Er

2011-11-23T17:50:00.001+05:30

#345-1. The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked.
-Napoleon Hill, author (1883-1970)

#345-2. An individual human existence should be like a river: small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.
-Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

#345-3. Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.
-A. A. Milne author (1882-1956)

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A river f! orms a powerful motif in Herman Hesse’s Siddartha, who finally learns useful insights from a river. Rivers, I think, hold a fascination for humans, more than oceans, and definitely, lakes and ponds. Oceans beckon with mystery and danger but they also overwhelm—rivers, on the other hand, we relate to. A river seems to be the perfect metaphor for how we perceive our lives. Flowing, flowing, always moving inevitably further, encountering obstacles, overcoming them or changing direction… Nourishing those en route, also collecting and carrying unwanted baggage, appearing to meander aimlessly at times, at other times purposefully seeking the path to merge with the final destination, the ocean…

Of course, one may prefer, instead of this philosophical musing, to gape at this interactive mapping of rivers by National Geographic. Or figure out why genders are associated with rivers, not only in India where Ganga is feminine and Brahmaputra masculine, but also in other countries.

i-TFTD #344: Dawn of True Wisdom

2011-11-17T14:32:00.001+05:30

i-TFTD #344: Dawn of True Wisdom

by Ramesh Balsekar (in “Enlightened Living”)

Every month the disciple faithfully sent his Master an account of his progress.

In the first month he wrote: "I feel an expansion of consciousness and experience my oneness with the Universe." The master glanced at the note and threw it away.

The following month, this is what he had to say: "I have finally discovered that the Divine is present in all things." The Master seemed disappointed.

The third month the disciple’s words enthusiastically exclaimed: "The mystery of the One and the many have been revealed to my wondering gaze." The Master shook his head and again threw the letter away.

The next letter said: "No one is born, no one lives, no one dies, for the ego-self is not." The master threw his hands up in utter despair.

After that a month passed by, then two, then five months – and finally a whole year without another letter. The master thought it was time to remind his disciple of his duty to keep him informed of his spiritual progress.

Then the disciple wrote back: "Who cares?"

When the Master read those words a look of great satisfaction spread over his face.

____
This format of initially funny-looking but eventually thought-provoking anecdotes (called "koans") are used in Zen teaching. Anthony De Mello, a Jesuit priest who conducted spiritual retreats at Lonavla (a hill station near Mumbai) for many years, has written a number of books that are superb collections of such stories sourced from all religions. Some of them are "One Minute Wisdom", "Song of the Bird" and "The Prayer of the Frog".

i-TFTD #343: Another Children's Day Special

2011-11-15T14:10:00.000+05:30

In India Children’s Day is celebrated every year on November 14, the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister. We saw a few quotes related to children in an earlier i-TFTD in 2008. The comment there said, ”Substitute children in the above with subordinates and parent with leader, to get useful insights on career development, leadership qualities.” Here is another bonus edition of quotes related to children—their creativity and their dreams. Are they theirs only?

#343-1. Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves.
―Sir Ken Robinson, British educationist and world-renowned expert speaker (1950-)

#343-2. All kids are gifted; some just open their packages earlier than others.
-Michael Carr, British light music compose (1905-1968)

#343-3. The soul is healed by being with children.
-Fyodor Dostoyevsky, novelist (1821-1881)

#343-4. We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what no one knows yet.
–Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist and writer (1901–1978)

#343-5. Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well.
-Aristotle, Greek philosopher and polymath (384 BCE–322 BCE)

#343-6. ! Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
-James Arthur Baldwin, American writer, poet and social critic (1924–1987)

#343-7. In a short poem titled, Cloths of Heaven, William Butler Yeats wrote:

   Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
   Enwrought with golden and silver light,
   The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
   Of night and light and the half-light,
   I would spread the cloths under your feet:
   But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
   I have spread my dreams under your feet;
   Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly.
―Sir Ken Robinson, British educationist and world-renowned expert speaker (1950-)
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If you are not one of the estimated 200 million people around the world who have watched Sir Ken Robinson’s TED video speeches, please do so when you have thirty minutes to spare. They are at http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html and http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html. I absolutely love and get inspired every time I watch, by the distinctly British humor, humility and passionate advocacy…

i-TFTD #342: How to Start an Induction Motor

2011-11-11T16:44:00.001+05:30

It's been a long gap of seven weeks in the otherwise regular i-TFTD of the past many years.

I could give many excuses like being busy with organizational changes, helping my wife open her second Just Books library outlet in Thane (please spread the word to your Thanekar friends, it is at Hiranandani Meadows near Vasant Vihar area) and so on. But ultimately as often emphasized in past i-TFTDs, we choose to prioritize what we fill into our time and that is all there is to it. Nothing could really justify not finding a few minutes in a week to do something I care about.

I consoled myself saying...

Not all those who wander are lost.
-J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, philologist and university professor, best kno! wn as the author of 'The Lord of the Rings' (1892–1973)

But it was important to realize that...

Every man is a damned fool for at least five minutes every day. Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.
-Elbert Hubbard, author, editor, printer (1856-1915)

I figured that the resumption could elicit appreciation! After all...

As contraries are known by contraries, so is the delight of presence best known by the torments of absence.
-Alcibiades, Athenian statesman, orator, and general (c. 450–404 BCE)

I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.
-Robert Brault, American writer (1938-)

I further pepped mysel! f up saying...

It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.
-Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Moliere, French actor and playwright (1622-1673)

Getting UPSET will not help. Always getting UP to SET the things right will surely help.
-Anon

(Thanks to Neelabh Upadhyay for sharing this.)

Finally the lesson from all this for me is...

Absences and gaps /
Howsoever justified /
Can be wily traps!

The above is an example of expressing a thought in haiku form, mimicking the 5-7-5 syllables used in the original Japanese poetry. Over 200 of such haikus are part of my early tweets.

In case you are wondering about the title, it is an indirect hat tip to ! the delightful movie, 3 Idiots, which talked about strengths and passion. Sorry if you haven’t seen the movie and don’t make the connection.

i-TFTD #341: Seeing the Seen

2011-09-23T19:17:00.000+05:30

#341-1. The world is a looking glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.
-William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist (1811-1863)

#341-2. If you've ever taken on a major, challenging project, you know that finishing it doesn't just create the output you had planned on, it transforms you.
-Dr. Venkatesh Rao, author of Tempo, independent researcher and blogger (1974-)

#341-3. There is a road from the eye to the heart of things that does not go through the intellect.
-Gilbert K. Chesterton, British writer and philosopher (1874–1936)

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The first quote reminds me of the following lines from the melancholy ghazal by Jagjit Singh, "Zindagi kya hai jaanne ke liye zinda rehna bahut zaroori hai" (to understand life it is necessary to live):
aao hum sab pehen le aaine
saare dekhenge apne hi chehre
saare haseen lagenge yahaan

(come, let us all clothe ourselves with mirrors
everyone will see their own faces
everyone will look beautiful here)

What we see when working on a tough task we handled changes dramatically when we look back. Each of us can remember at least one major task in life that stretched the boundaries of our abilities. Undoubtedly such an endeavor has a lasting and positive impact in some way or the other. It reveals our limits or hidden capabilities, makes us more resilient and overall boosts our self-confidence. Why then do we all not eagerly rush to more such challenges?

Reflection and analysis of our thoughts or f! eelings makes our conscious mind aware of certain patterns and takes us to the next level. But the belief always persists (and maybe becomes stronger) that there are important things just beyond our conscious awareness. Interestingly, that does not scare us but excites us and hopefully encourages to explore more.

i-TFTD #340: On Seeking Answers

2011-09-15T19:59:00.001+05:30

#340-1. The wrong answer sometimes is the right one in search of a different question.
-Bruce Mau, designer

#340-2. If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between "for" and "against" is the mind's worst disease.
-Sen-ts’an, 8th century Chinese Zen master

#340-3. The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.
-Leo Tolstoy, author (1828-1910)

(Thanks to K. Shailesh for sharing this.)

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Our logical, analytical mind tends to jump to finding the r! ight answer on encountering a question. We have trained that ability of the brain throughout the formative years. Any answer on offer, if not judged to be the right one, is wrong. Real-life situations involving real people with real feelings and irrational emotions have a way of disproving this fundamental belief in the single right answer. The question may be framed incorrectly or there could be more important ones underlying the asked question. This is why our creative thinking needs rekindling, and techniques are used for this.

Of course, the binary mode of thinking pervades all aspects of life. The month of August 2011 almost seemed to force every Indian to announce whether he or she is “for Anna (Hazare)” or “against Anna”. Maybe someone was supportive of one of the suggestions made by the activist and against some of the other suggestions. Nor could it be taken to imply that the person is supportive of the Indian Government who spectacularly mishandled it. Yes, there are important matters, especially concerning our values, when we have to take a clear stand but the complexity and dimensions could indicate deferment of judgment, more data gathering or discussing specifics rather than a simple Yes/No vote.

Such kind of advice would only help those who have not already made up their minds about making up their minds.

i-TFTD #339: Grow Up and Move On

2011-09-07T12:09:00.001+05:30

Grow up and Move On
For one to move into a position, there should be someone ready to move out.
By Devdutt Pattanaik

In Vedic times, life was divided into four stages: the first quarter was Brahmacharyaashram, the stage when one is a student; the second was Grihastha-ashram, the stage when one is a householder; the third was Vanaprastha-ashram, the stage when one retires from active household duty; the fourth was Sanyasa-ashram, the stage when one detaches oneself totally from the world.

In the corporate world, the ashram system is very much a reality. But not explicitly. When one takes up a job, one spends a lot of time learning the new job. This is Brahmacharya. Then a point comes when the learning stops and one becomes increasingly productive with higher and higher ! levels of efficiency and effectiveness. This is Grihastha. Then there's a stage when one outgrows a job. One desires to move on. This is the time when one must step into Vanaprastha, the twilight zone, when one empowers and enables the next generation to step in. Having created the talent pool that can take one's place, one reaches Sanayasa, free to move on, out of the current-job paradigm into a new challenging paradigm. And the cycle starts all over again.

Conventionally, Vanaprastha is seen as retirement. But it can be seen as the stage when one passes on one's skill and knowledge to the next generation so that they can flourish while one moves on. The ashrama system need not be applied only to one's entire professional life – it can be applied to each role one takes up. Thus one has the four stages as an executive, then the four stages as a manager, then four stages as a director. If we have to grow, we have to constantly keep retiring.

The per! fect organisation is said to be one that respects the march of the four stages; where things move predictably – people move on and move in at the appropriate rate. This is celebrated in the Ramayana where as soon as Ram completes his education, he is given a wife and as soon as he marries, his father, Dashrath, declares his intention to retire, move out of the palace, and let Ram be king.

The ashram-dharma in the Ramayan is a theoretical construct. It assumes that people are willing to move on to the next stage and they know when to move on. Life is not so simple. There are executives who do not want to be managers. And there are mangers who will not let executives become managers. And there are directors who realise they are quite illequipped to direct. This disruption in the orderly course is the theme of the Mahabharata.

The epic tells the story of a king called Shantanu who has a grown up son called Devavrata, who is ready to marry and become king. ! But then Shantanu falls in love with a beautiful young fisherwoman called Satyavati. He wants to marry her but there is a rider: only her children should be declared his heirs. To Shantanu's great relief, Devavrata voluntarily gives up his claim to the throne. "But what if your children fight my daughter's children?" asks Satyavati's father. In response, Devavrata takes a vow never to marry, never to touch a woman and never to father or adopt a child. For this vow, the gods declare Devavrata to be 'Bhisma'. Bhisma is celebrated as the obedient son. Nobody condemns the father. As one reads the epic, one realises that Bhisma's act of obedience is one of the prime reasons for the great carnage on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. If the older generation had made way for the younger generation, as the scriptures advised, the Mahabharata would not have happened.

The Mahabharata also tells the story of one Yayati who was so desperate to stay young that he begged one o! f his sons to suffer old age so that he could cling on to youth. His eldest son, Yadu, refused this request. The youngest, Puru, agreed. For obeying his father, Puru was made Yayati's heir (the Kauravas and the Pandavas are his descendents). For disobeying, Yadu was cursed that neither he nor his descendents would ever be king (which is why Krishna, of the Yadu clan, is always kingmaker, never king).

As in the Ramayana, this story of Yayati in the Mahabharata clearly celebrates obedience and submission of the younger generation to the older generation. But there is one crucial difference. In the Ramayana, the older generation does not behave like a parasite – it willingly makes way for the next generation. In the Mahabharata, the older generation takes advantage of the obedience of the younger generation to indulge its appetite for power and pleasure.

Organisations need to constantly look out for Yayatis and Shantanus – men who refuse to move on and me! n who refuse to let the juniors grow. Men who use hierarchy to dominate and control rather than simply for order and stability.

Take the example of Jaisingh. He is a brilliant store manager. And he is comfortable in this position, so comfortable that very deliberately he keeps mocking and demotivating his juniors, telling them how they are not fit to get a promotion and doing nothing to help them grow. He fears that if they learn how to be store managers, he will be redundant and that he will be kicked out by the management. What the organisation does not realise is that Jaisingh is behaving exactly as his boss, the regional manager, Vijaysingh, who is fearful that Jaisingh will make him redundant. Both Jaisingh and Vijaysingh are stuck in Grihastha-ashram. No one wants to move into Vanaprastha, because everyone fears Sanyasa.

Letting go, moving on, is perhaps the most important skill one needs to master in the corporate world. Imagine the human pyramid cr! eated during the Janmashtami festival of dahi-handi to help the one on the top get to the pot of curds and butter tied high up. Unless those at the lowermost level rise up, the one on top will never get to the butter. Ask yourself – are you rising to help your boss reach the pot? Ask yourself – are you allowing those below you to rise? Unless you do, the pot will never be yours.

(Thanks to Sheenam Ohrie for sharing this.)

____
Devdutt Pattanaik writes regularly in Corporate Dossier, The Economic Times supplement. He has the uncanny ability to relate the essential concepts behind the mythological stories to modern business management. Succession planning is a concept that is widely paid lip service but rarely practised. A leader must make himself or herself dispensable through grooming, coach! ing and empowerment of subordinates in order to be free to move on to newer roles. If I am comfortably ensconced in my job I reduce the probability of upward mobility, I stagnate – dangerously.

i-TFTD #338: On Thinking Clearly

2011-09-06T19:59:00.000+05:30

#338-1. The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
-Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

#338-2. Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.
-Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (1920-)

#338-3. Our heads are round so that thoughts can change direction.
-Francis Picabia, painter and poet (1879-1953)____
One reason we get stuck when trying to find solutions is that we accept the problem description or question as stated originally. Redefining the problem is a powerful step in innovation. One has to cultivate the habit of creating many versions of a statement. If we ponder over, “What deterrent will make people be more careful and avoid mistakes in this process?” it leads to a set of solutions, which are very different from those that occur when we ask, “How can this process be designed and communicated that enables people to correctly execute this process?” The latter leads to the mindset behind poka yoke.

Think of someone who you believe is an excellent communicator and the odds are that the person has clarity of thought and the boldness to express it. It is difficult to think clearly in the age of abundant information and access to opinions. More than being ‘brainy’ it demands confidence to accept our own thoughts and feelings, especially when dealing with personal problems.

Some people who have the habit of saying, “I am very clear!” use it as a shield to prevent further probing of their thoughts or exploring other ideas. Real clarity is to focus on the objective and relentlessly pursue it even it means reversing our stand or revising our thoughts.

i-TFTD #337: They Want to Look at You When You Say It

2011-09-02T09:41:00.001+05:30

This anecdote has been quoted by Carol Kinsey Goman, PhD, author of 'The Nonverbal Advantage'. Practical tips on body language are available on Carol’s blog.

In a Fortune 25 Company, teleconferences provided an ongoing opportunity for small groups of employees to get up close and personal with the CEO.

Time after time, employees would ask questions that had already been communicated in various company publications and through dozens of email announcements.

After the sessions, the beleaguered CEO asked his communication manager, "How many times have we told them about that? Why don't they know that?"

"Oh, they! know it," the communications manager replied. "They just want to hear it from you. More importantly, they want to be able to look at you when you say it."

____
Anyone working in a corporate environment would be familiar with the "Don't people read their mail?" puzzle. This little story emphasizes the importance of face-to-face communication, especially for leaders, something that is becoming less frequent due to distributed teams and availability of conferencing technologies.

Highly effective people travel a lot, and also wander around the office. Ram Charan, one of the top-rated management gurus today, is said to have clocked 500,000 miles (800,000 km) on aircraft in 2008.

i-TFTD #336: Laugh Then Think

2011-08-30T18:35:00.001+05:30

While most i-TFTD posts have a positive and inevitably prescriptive tone, humor and contrarian statements can be usefully thought-provoking, too. Past i-TFTDs in a slightly different tone (see here, here and here) have been popular with readers so here is another set.

#336-1. Being vague is as much fun as doing that other thing.
-Anon

#336-2. I don't necessarily agree with everything I say.
-Marshall McLuhan, Canadian educator, philosopher and communication theorist (1911–1980)

#336-3. Ther! e's an old proverb that says pretty much whatever you want it to.
-Anon

(Thanks to AP Srikanth for sharing this.)

____
Clarity in communication is often a result of clear and logical thinking. With logic one can win arguments and alienate multitudes (as Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein say in their hilarious book, ‘Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes’). There are many situations where one requires the skill of being vague—to avoid hurting someone, to hedge our bets or to have fun.

When discussing complex matters or pursuing a favorite topic thread spread over time, people tend to quote something we said earlier that appears inconsistent with the current statement. It is healthy to revise our views and reverse our opinion in light of ! new facts rather than protect a rigid consistency.

Catchy statements are available to make any point and its opposite—the context and intended application should be the guide.

i-TFTD #335: Managers Need to Be Strengths-Spotters

2011-08-25T19:10:00.001+05:30

#335-1. People go to work to succeed, not to fail. It is the manager's job to understand people's strengths. Managers who strive to find the good in their people will achieve far more than managers who only find fault.
-Ed Sykes

#335-2. We can't make people better by trying to eliminate their weaknesses, but we can help then perform better by building on their strengths.
-Peter Drucker

#335-3. Self-mastery calls for thorough familiarity with one's mental and emotional strengths. And it calls for sustaining a commitment to personal growth - the understanding of what makes you tick as an individual - as well as personal development.
-Charles Garfield

____
Find your own talents, stren! gths and those of your team's. Organize work around use of these strengths.

Many i-TFTD posts have touched upon my favorite topic of ‘Strengths Approach’ such as this and this.

i-TFTD #334: Deadly Sho(r)ts Part III

2011-08-23T11:11:00.001+05:30

Conveying ideas crisply and clearly is a rare ability. The Deadly Sho(r)ts and More Deadly Sho(r)ts i-TFTD posts received appreciative feedback so here is another set.

#334-1. A gun gives you the body, not the bird.
-Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

#334-2. Convincing yourself doesn't win an argument.
-Robert Half, American businessman (1918-) [not sure]

#334-3. No plan survives contact with the enemy.
-Helmuth von Moltke, German general (1800-1891)

____
Physical force is sometimes overestimated, its control requires power of thought. I can use positional authority to enforce a decision but its implementation is far more energetic if I invest effort in convincing the team of the decision.

Persuasion is a dynamic skill—after reasonable preparation, its effectiveness lies in the actual conversation with others and how one fine-tunes the dialogue.

Planning and plans have to be understood as two different beasts. One is a useful thinking process with multiple benefits, the other is to be seen as a temporary and temporal artifact. This was discussed in the i-TFTD post titled, “Plan But Don’t Always Stick to It”. Two new books on strategy I started reading bring out the importance of this with brilliant examples from war and business:
-Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford, author of "The Undercover Economist"
-Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt

i-TFTD #333: What Freedom Means

2011-08-18T15:36:00.001+05:30

August 15 every year brings the word freedom into prominence. It is a simple word but not a simple concept. Everybody wants it but apparently everybody does not easily let others have it. One man wants to have the freedom to stage a symbolic protest in a particular place in a large city that would disrupt traffic and inconvenience a lot of his compatriots. The people running the Government of India are learning (hopefully) the limits of the freedom that they have. The quotes below indicate that freedom has many dimensions.

#333-1. Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.
-Stephen R. Covey

#333-2. Regulation is designed by h! umanity itself, it would be ridiculous to presume that everything that is not regulated is not even allowed. Regulation is an exception and freedom is the rule.
-Anon

#333-3. Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
-Mahatma Gandhi

____
As happens often, I sense a useful point of view in what Covey says but have to disagree with the broad sweep and finality with which it is made. One of the hottest topics of research in recent times is on the irrational working of the human brain and the ways in which our thoughts and beliefs are unconsciously affected. But within the context of our reactions to events, it helps to perceive the freedom we have, to choose our responses.

Freedom is the default state unless specific limits are commonly agreed for collective benefit.

Having the freedom to make mistakes does not mean we should not design to prevent processes or products unwanted mistakes.

i-TFTD #332: Unconventional Tips on Decision Making

2011-08-08T12:46:00.000+05:30

Action is Better than Inaction
Excerpted from an article in Providence Business News dated June 1, 2009
by Harvey Mackay, author of the bestselling book, ‘Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive’

Anyone who has management responsibilities understands that decision-making can be precarious. Choose well and you are a hero. Make a bad choice and your career could be over. Is it any wonder that many people really struggle in making decisions?

Or, as Yogi Berra said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

After you’ve done all your homework, when making decisions, I’ve found that yo! u have to trust your gut. Deep down, you know what’s right. If not, I always check with people I trust to give me the knowledge on all sides. Psychologist Joyce Brothers advises, “Trust your hunches... they are usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.”

Sigmund Freud was once asked why it is so difficult for some people to make decisions. He shocked people when he said he asks them to toss a coin. He went on to explain: “I did not say you should follow blindly what the coin tells you. What I want you to do is to note what the coin indicates. Then look into your own reactions. Ask yourself: Am I pleased? Am I disappointed? That will help you to recognize how you really feel about the matter, deep down inside. With that as a basis, you’ll then be ready to make up your mind and come to the right decision.”

We grow by making d! ecisions and assuming responsibility for them. You’re not going to be right all the time. In fact, President Harry Truman said, “Whenever I make a bum decision, I just go out and make another.”

Andrew Carnegie felt much the same way that making decisions is a measure for success. He said: “It has been my experience that a man who cannot reach a decision promptly once he has all the necessary facts for the decision at hand, cannot be depended upon to carry through any decision he may make. I have also discovered that men who reach decisions promptly usually have the capacity to move with definiteness of purpose in other circumstances.”

Strong leaders have no problem making decisions. They are confident that their decisions are the best. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said, “My idea of a group decision is to l! ook in the mirror.”

Abraham Lincoln faced some of the most difficult decisions any president has encountered when he presided over a nation that was split down the middle on the issue of slavery. In 1863, Lincoln, worried about the future of a nation breaking apart at the seams, made a bold decision to take charge, take risks and move ahead. He wrote one of the most profound statements about human rights of all time, the Emancipation Proclamation. He took these ideas to his cabinet, which then numbered only six. After reading the Proclamation to them, he asked for their consensus and support. The vote, including Lincoln’s, was two “ayes,” and five “nays.”

Lincoln announced the vote as recorded, two “ayes,” five “nays.” And he said, “the ‘ayes’ have it.”

Few of us will ever have to make a decision that monumental, but as managers, we will have ! to make plenty of smaller decisions that affect the lives and careers of our employees.

James Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape, was a charismatic manager whose maxims have endeared him to his employees. One of his favorites was formulated at a management retreat soon after he took over Netscape. It’s known as his three-snake rule:

-The first rule: If you see a snake, kill it. Don’t set up a snake committee. Don’t set up a snake user group. Don’t write snake memos. Kill it.
-The second rule: Don’t play with dead snakes. (Don’t revisit decisions.)
-The paradoxical third: All opportunities start out looking like snakes.

Mackay’s Moral: Don’t be afraid to make a decision. Be afraid not to make a decision.

(Thanks to Batul Hafiji for sharing this.)

____
In ! the initial stages one has to learn techniques and parameters to apply but as emphasized by many leaders, one should not wait for perfect and complete information. At some point we have to decide to act and move ahead. Reflecting on one’s success and failure could improve the parameters for future decisions. Over time, one has to mature to develop one’s instinctual ability and learn to trust it. Hopefully that would help one grow into higher responsibilities and more complex decision situations and thus begin the cycle of learning, doing and developing.

i-TFTD #331: On Vague Moods

2011-08-04T16:18:00.001+05:30

#331-1. When in a sour mood, stop everything and ask if you are in need of food, sleep, a potty break, fresh air, or exercise.
-Justin Wehr

#331-2. The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is on the contrary born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else—we are the busiest people in the world.
-Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (1902-1983)

#331-3. Weather is a state of mind. How gray one feels inside has little to do with clouds or what the thermometer reads. One could find cheerful people in an icy place like Alaska or gloomy people on a sunny beach in Hawaii.
-Anu Garg, chief word smith of A.Word.A.Day

____
Mood is hard to define but we all know what it is. Moods are non-specific emotional states that linger but are less long-lasting than personality traits. I used to believe that so-called moody people are inconsiderate folk who use the word to justify their self-centered behavior. Psychology professor Robert Thayer is a mood researcher who has written useful books and articles on how food and thoughts affect our mood. One useful insight I gathered is to view mood as a thermometer. It is an indicator. We can learn to become aware of our mood and examine the causes of it so as to take useful action. Proponents of emotional intelligence advise us to identify how a particular feeling, especially a negative one, manifests as a physical sensation. Many people experience a low-intensity headach! e-like throb when they are frustrated or silently angry about something. For me, it seems to make me feel queasy in the stomach. The value of noticing such a symptom is that it often precedes the identification of the feeling by our conscious mind. Once we make a correlation we can train ourselves to become aware quickly.

When prioritization is not done properly we may end up spending time on the less important matters, which creates the feeling of being out of control. Then we become less effective.

i-TFTD #330: Past = Passed

2011-08-02T14:28:00.001+05:30

#330-1. Keep in mind that half of what you knew 18 months ago is worthless today, so you need to keep learning new things.
-Dr. Heinz Kabutz, creator of Java Specialists newsletter

#330-2. The past is to be dropped not because it is bad but because it is dead.
-Anthony De Mello, Jesuit priest and spiritual author (1931-1987), in "One Minute Wisdom"

#330-3. The dust of exploded beliefs may make a fine sunset.
-Geoffrey Madan, writer (1895-1947)

_____
The human mind works by identifying and memorizing and applying patterns so, in a way, we rely on nothing but the past. We find it easier to criticize past beliefs that are traditions imposed ! from outside but we rarely examine our own beliefs formed by a past experience.

Thinking about the past is useful only for the purpose of analyzing it to extract lessons that may guide our future behavior, otherwise it is to be avoided. Occasional reminiscing and nostalgia, if it makes us feel good, is healthy in small doses. It is important to remember that we don’t remember anything accurately however clear the image in our mind may seem. Many researchers in recent years have conducted experiments that show how what we recall is heavily influenced by many factors such as our current knowledge and the emotions attached to events. Many things about our past—especially our cultural background, educational and economic status—are nothing but a videotape we choose to play in our minds. They may be irrelevant, inaccurate and unnecessary constraints to our current capabilities.

i-TFTD #329: Visual Thinking and Innovation

2011-07-29T18:36:00.001+05:30

On Friday, July 22, 2011 I attended a one-day training workshop on the use of visual thinking to make meetings effective. It was conducted by Arun Wakhlu of Pragati Leadership Institute and Nitya Wakhlu, whose professional role gets her invited to meetings of clients like Nike, Citigroup and Nokia India to be a "graphic recorder" of the proceedings. Cool job, huh?

I decided to attend this programme on a topic of deep interest for me but, inevitably, questions popped up in my mind. One was, "I have always been a visual thinker, all my meeting notes usually contain text in different styles, mixed liberally with icons, diagrams and cartoons. Will I get to learn anything new at all?" Then I remembered:

Learning is less about building new branches, than about creating new buds on existing branches.
-Joseph LeDoux, professor of neuroscience and psychology a! t New York University (1949-)

We can rarely learn something that does not connect with something we already know. The best teachers use analogies and other techniques to help make such connections. So I was sure I will pick up a few tips and possibly some new concepts from the professionals.

Then I had a vague misgiving: what if the audience consists of young folk from creative fields and I happen to be the odd man out? Would I feel out of place? Not that it is unfamiliar territory or too much of a concern. On more rational reflection, I realized that the title of the sessions was "Miracle Meetings - Using Visual Thinking and Creative Tools". The stereotypical creative types abhor meetings and would certainly not attend training on meetings. The harsh truth was there was no reason for fear of any kind.

As soon as you say, "failure is not an option," you've just said, "innovation is not an option."
-Seth Godin, American marketing guru (1960-)

If you want to be creative and innovate, you have to be willing to experiment and "fail" in the initial attempts.

The actual experience was wonderful. There was a diverse audience covering all age groups with representation from chemical industry, automobiles, IT, government banks and independent trainers. True to spirit, the workshop itself had a lot of participative activities and exercises in group as well as individual creativity. Looking at the ebullient and energetic learners make interesting and effective visuals I revised my own assessment of my drawing abilities. But th! e trick in visual representation is to flow without inhibitions and to try to not be perfect.

Ah, good taste, what a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness.
-Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor (1881-1973)

Tastes change. Society revises its norms reluctantly and always after a maverick violates the existing standard. As is my habit, once I happily returned from what was perhaps India's first workshop on visual thinking, I told about it to anyone who asked - and some who didn't! Most people were intrigued by the concept. Very few seem to have heard of such a thing.

Henry Ford said it best, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they wo! uld've said 'A faster horse.'" Nobody in 2004 would've said, "Yes, I want Twitter" (or the idea of it). There is no one to follow, there is nothing to copy.

-Sir Richard Branson, British business magnate, Chairman of Virgin Group (1950)

The power of visual thinking in translating between mental models and visual models is increasingly finding its application in a range of fields that are simply exploding: g! raphic facilitation, infographics, data visualization and so on. Google any of these phrases and you can immerse yourself in the 30 million plus links offered. Just looking at the titles of some of the books in this area (and some of these are bestsellers though I have read none of them yet) indicates the development in this area. This is in addition to the dozens of books on mind mapping.

§ The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam

§ Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity by David Sibbet

§ Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas by Milly Sonneman

§ Visual Tools for Transforming Information Into Knowledge! by David N. Hyerle

§ Visual Thinking: Tools for Mapping Your Ideas by Nancy Margulies; Christine Valenza

Finally one more quote related to creativity and innovation:

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ! ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.
-Howard Aiken, computing pioneer, primary engineer of the IBM Mark I computer (1900-1973)

This is an amazingly contrarian view in today's patent-obsessed environment but more in touch with real-life experience. Nobody believes or accepts really new ideas. The few who dare to try out things help create safe paths for others to explore new arenas.

i-TFTD #328: Building Strong Skills

2011-07-21T18:37:00.000+05:30

#328-1. If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful after all.
-Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet (1475-1564)

#328-2. I never trust anyone who's more excited about success than about doing the thing they want to be successful at.
-xkcd.com/874 cartoon site (contents come with warning of strong language, unusual humor and advanced mathematics)

#328-3. Give your heart to the trade you have learnt, and draw refreshment from it.
-Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Roman Emperor and Stoic (121-180 CE)

____
Excellence in anything is attained with a combination of knowledge, skills and talents (or traits). We generally underestim! ate the time and effort investment necessary for building superior skill in any activity.

While the desire for tangible rewards and recognition can be an initial motivating factor, high levels of competence requires us to enjoy the long process of deliberate practice, honing the application of techniques, ironing out the little mistakes and rough edges, and converting many of the conscious actions to auto-pilot capability.

The required level of dedication comes not just from willpower but a deep sense of satisfaction in the learning process. Have you noticed how the master presenter is more eager to pick up a new trick, how someone with an extensive vocabulary consults the dictionary more often than a beginner who presumably has more need to do so? That’s the passion of a lifelong learner and that is the path of the excellent.

i-TFTD #327: Walking Away

2011-07-18T12:20:00.001+05:30

This poem first appeared in the collection The Gate and Other Poems, published in 1962. It is dedicated to Day-Lewis's first son, Sean, and recalls a day when he was watching Sean go in to school. It has become one of his most enduring works and in 2001 was chosen by readers of the Radio Times as one of their top ten poems of childhood.

Walking Away
by Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet (1904-1972)

It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day –
A sunny day with leaves just turning,
The touch-lines new-ruled – since I watched you play
Your first game of football, then, like a satellite
Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away

Behind a scatter of boys. I can seeYou walking away from me towards the school
With the pathos of a half-fledged thing set free
Into a wilderness, the gait of one
Who finds no path where the path should be.

That hesitant figure, eddying away
Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem,
Has something I never quite grasp to convey
About nature's give-and-take – the small, the scorching
Ordeals which fire one's irresolute clay.

I have had worse partings, but none that so
Gnaws at my mind still. Perhaps it is roughly
Saying what God alone could perfectly show –
How selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go.

____
Simple words that profoundly touch
Without aiming to extract any obvious emotion
Some readers may get nostalgic and wistful
Some may feel moved by the pangs of parenthood
Some may recall their childhood and
Get insights ! on their parents...
This is what a great poem is like
Not using complicated words but
Expresses many complex feelings
Different from beautiful prose
In an undefinable way--for a lay reader
Applies to many other situations.

If you noticed the irony that this i-TFTD, coming after a long gap of 5 weeks, was preceded by one titled, "How to Get Unstuck", score +1 for yourself! Those kind readers who politely enquired (some telepathically I would like to believe) were a big motivation to get unstuck. My humble gratitude.

i-TFTD #326: How to Get Unstuck

2011-06-10T06:37:00.001+05:30

Seth Godin identifies 4 ways in which you could get stuck:

-You don't know what to do
-You don't know how to do it
-You don't have the authority or the resources to do it
-You're afraid

He says it is easier to find a way forward once you know what is stopping you. His punch line is: Stuck is a state of mind, and it's curable.

____
Simple but powerful insight. We tend to mix up the reasons why we feel stuck or try solving something other than the actual problem on hand. The last state in the list above is rarely admitted. “I am not afraid or anything!” It is that vague hesitation, those voices in the head that suddenly highligh! t the virtue of harmony and peace—just when we are called upon to disagree with someone or confront them. Being honest about ourselves (to ourselves first) makes things clearer and thereby easier to tackle.

i-TFTD #325: On Advanced Communication

2011-06-02T12:08:00.001+05:30

#325-1. There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about.
-John Von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician (1903-1957)

#325-2. The goal of communication is not for you to deliver your idea. It is to build a bridge between two people and meet in the middle.
-Joshua Freedman, author and EQ expert

#325-3. Fools say what they know; the wise know what they say.
-Jewish proverb

____
Precision becomes important after ensuring that the context and the fundamental principle are right. In developing our ability to have intelligent conversations we sometimes tend to get this sequence wrong. For those prone to quoting statistics to sound knowledgeable and! others who tend to get impressed with it, one would remind that "87.42% of quoted statistics are made up!"

Managers and trainers get caught in the trap of completing the delivery of a message and perceiving that to be the end purpose. Knowledgeable folk tend to measure their success in terms of whether they got the listener to agree to their viewpoint. Great communicators have a purpose and content but know that the process is more nuanced. The occasions when I have been able to curb my instinct to continue speaking in order to let the other person ask questions or think aloud about the matter under discussion, I have always experienced the satisfying "Aha" effect when the other person arrives at that bridge through their own thinking effort.

The third quote has to be understood in the context of payi! ng attention to what we say before we say it, a very rare quality. We need not and sometimes should not say everything we know. We should certainly not say what we do not know. After saying something we better know what we have said, what it could mean to others and what implications it could have.

i-TFTD #324: On Thought Expansion

2011-05-30T18:29:00.001+05:30

#324-1. Capacity is a state of mind.
-David J. Schwartz ("The Magic of Thinking Big")

#324-2. To nurture rich insights and intuitions, a knowledge-creating company needs diversity in the pool of talents available within the company. This diversity enhances requisite variety, which is one of the enabling conditions for the organization.
-Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi ("The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation")

#324-3. Why are we so much better at answering questions than at answering the right question! s? Is it because we are trained at school and university to answer questions that others have asked? If so, should we be trained to ask questions?
-Trevor Kletz (British Chemical Engineer and Safety expert, author of many books including "Learning from Accidents" and "An Engineer's View of Human Error")

____
The first is a profound statement. Anyone who has achieved anything spectacular began by believing, dreaming. Yet we limit ourselves everyday with our statements.

Diversity is a good antidote to unthinking conformity. Leaders must encourage voicing of different views.

Have you wondered why one of the favorite themes in i-TFTD is raising que! stions? I have come to believe that seeking answers is more important than the answers themselves. And it is different from knowing the so-called answer.

i-TFTD #323: Ever Tried Feedforward? (Long)

2011-05-27T15:43:00.001+05:30

Ambrish Jhaveri sent this article to me in Aug-2005. I forwarded it as something interesting to read to our HR Manager, who, in turn, tailored it into a corporate initiative and offered managers at all levels a structured and facilitated format to seek feedforward from their teams. Thanks, Ambrish. Your thoughtful sharing gesture set off a positive change whose benefits are still accruing across a large organization.

Read the article below to understand that 'feedforward' is not merely a word play from Marshall Goldsmith. He is one of the world's top executive coaches and author of over 20 books on leadership, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There and The Organization of the Future. His practical and insightful writings are increasingly featured in management journa! ls. His web site contains tons of useful material.

Ever Tried Feedforward?
The fundamental problem with feedback is that it focuses on the past. Instead, people should be looking ahead.
Marshall Goldsmith / New York August 23, 2005

Providing feedback has long been considered to be an essential skill for leaders. As they strive to achieve the goals of the organization, employees need to know how they are doing.

They need to know if their performance is in line with what their leaders expect. They need to learn what they have done well and what they need to change. Traditionally, this information has been communicated in the form of "downward feed! back" from leaders to their employees.

Just as employees need feedback from leaders, leaders can benefit from feedback from their employees. Employees can provide useful input on the effectiveness of procedures and processes and as well as input to managers on their leadership effectiveness. This "upward feedback" has become increasingly common with the advent of 360° multi-rater assessments.

But there is a fundamental problem with all types of feedback: it focuses on a past, on what has already occurred—not on the infinite variety of opportunities that can happen in the future. As such, feedback can be limited and static, as opposed to expansive and dynamic.

Over the past several years, I have observed more than 10,000 leaders as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise. In the exercise, participants are each asked to play two roles. In one role, they are asked provide "feedforward"—that is, to give someone else suggestions! for the future and help as much as they can. In the second role, they are asked to accept feedforward—that is, to listen to the suggestions for the future and learn as much as they can. The exercise typically lasts for 10-15 minutes, and the average participant has six or seven dialogue sessions. In the exercise participants are asked to:

-Pick one behavior that they would like to change. Change in this behavior should make a significant, positive difference in their lives.
-Describe this behavior to randomly selected fellow participants. This is done in one-on-one dialogues. It can be done quite simply, such as, "I want to be a better listener."
-Ask for feed forward—two suggestions for the future that might help them achieve a positive change in their selected behavior.
-Listen attentively to the suggestions and take notes. Participants are not allowed to critique the suggestions or even to make positive judgmental statements, such as, "That's a good idea."
-Ask the others what they would like to change.
-Provide feedforward.

When the exercise is finished, I ask participants to provide one word that best describes their reaction to this experience. I ask them to complete the sentence, "This exercise was …". The words provided are almost always extremely positive, such as "great", "energizing", "useful" or "helpful." The most common word mentioned is "fun!"

What is the last word that most of us think about when we receive feedback, coaching and developmental ideas? Fun!

Here's why.

Here are 11 reasons why feedforward can often be more useful than feedback as a developmental tool.

▪ We can change the future. We can't change the past. Feedforward helps people envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past.

▪ Athletes are often trained using feedforward. Racecar drivers are taught to, "Look at the road ahead, not at the wall." By giving pe! ople ideas on how they can be even more successful, we can increase their chances of achieving this success in the future.

▪ It can be more productive to help people be "right," than prove they were "wrong". Negative feedback often tends to produce defensiveness on the part of the receiver and discomfort on the part of the sender.

▪ Even constructively delivered feedback is often seen as negative as it necessarily involves a discussion of mistakes, shortfalls and problems. Feedforward, on the other hand, is almost always seen as positive because it focuses on solutions—not problems.

▪ Feedforward is especially suited to successful people. Successful people like getting ideas that are aimed at helping them achieve their goals.

▪ They tend to resist negative judgment. We all tend to accept feedback that is consistent with the way we see ourselves. We also tend to reject or deny feedback that is inconsistent with the way we see ourselves.

▪ Successful people tend to have a very positive self-image. I have observed many successful executives respond to (and even enjoy) feedforward. I am not sure that these same people would have had such a positive reaction to feedback.

▪ Feedforward can come from anyone who knows about the task. It does not require personal experience with the individual. One common reaction to the previously described exercise is that participants are amazed by how much they can learn from people that they don't know!

▪ For instance, if you want to be a better listener, almost any fellow leader can give you ideas on how you can improve! . They don't have to know you. Feedback requires knowing about the person. Feedforward just requires having good ideas for achieving the task.

▪ People do not take feedforward as personally as feedback. In theory, constructive feedback is supposed to "focus on the performance, not the person". In practice, almost all feedback is taken personally. Successful people's sense of identity is highly connected with their work. It is hard to give a professional feedback that is not taken personally.

▪ Feedforward cannot involve a personal critique, since it is discussing something that has not yet happened! Positive suggestions tend to be seen as objective advice—personal critiques are often viewed as personal attacks.

Feedback can reinforce personal stereotyping and negative self-fulfilling prophecies. Feedforward can reinforce the possibility of ch! ange. It is based on the assumption that the receiver of suggestions can make positive changes in the future.

Face it! Most of us hate getting negative feedback, and we don't like to give it. I have reviewed summary 360° feedback reports for over 50 companies.

The items, "provides developmental feedback in a timely manner" and "encourages and accepts constructive criticism" almost always score near the bottom on co-worker satisfaction with leaders. Leaders are not very good at giving or receiving negative feedback. It is unlikely that this will change in the near future.

Feedforward can cover almost all of the same "material" as feedback. Imagine that you have just made a terrible presentation in front of the executive committee. Your manager is in the room. Rather than make you "relive" this humiliating experience, your manager might help you prepare for future presentations by giving you suggestions for the future. These suggestion! s can be very specific and still delivered in a positive way.

In this way your manager can "cover the same points" without feeling embarrassed and without making you feel even more humiliated.

Feedforward tends to be much faster and more efficient than feedback. An excellent technique for giving ideas to successful people is to say, "Here are four ideas for the future. Please accept these in the positive spirit that they are given. If you can only use two of the ideas, you are still two ahead. Just ignore what doesn't make sense for you."

With this approach almost no time gets wasted on judging the quality of the ideas or "proving that the ideas are wrong". Successful people tend to have a high need for self-determination and will tend to accept ideas that they "buy" while rejecting ideas that feel "forced" upon them.

Feedforward can be a useful tool to apply with managers, peers and team members. Rightly or wrongly, fee! dback is associated with judgment. This can lead to very negative—or even career-limiting—unintended consequences when applied to managers or peers. Feedforward does not imply superiority of judgment.

It is more focused on being a helpful "fellow traveler" than an "expert". As such it can be easier to hear from a person who is not in a position of power or authority.

An excellent team-building exercise is to have each team member ask, "How can I better help our team in the future?" and listen to feedforward from fellow team members (in one-on-one dialogues.)

People tend to listen more attentively to feedforward than feedback. One participant is the feedforward exercise noted, "I think that I listened more effectively in this exercise than I ever do at work!"

When asked why, he responded, "Normally, when others are speaking, I am so busy composing a reply that will make sure that I sound smart—that I am not fully listening to what! the other person is saying. In feedforward the only reply that I am allowed to make is 'thank you'. Since I don't have to worry about composing a clever reply—I can focus all of my energy on listening to the other person!"

In summary, the intent of this article is not to imply that leaders should never give feedback or that performance appraisals should be abandoned. The intent is to show how feedforward can often be preferable to feedback in day-to-day interactions.

Aside from its effectiveness and efficiency, feedforward can make life a lot more enjoyable. When managers are asked, "How did you feel the last time you received feedback?" their most common responses are very negative. When managers are asked how they felt after receiving feedforward, they reply that feedforward was not only useful, it was also fun!

Quality communication—between and among people at all levels—is the glue that holds organizations together. By using feedforward leaders can dramatically improve the quality of communication in their organizations, ensuring that the right message is conveyed, and that those who receive it are receptive to its content.

The result is a much more dynamic, much more open organization—one whose employees focus on the promise of the future rather than dwelling on the mistakes of the past.

i-TFTD #322: Check Reality

2011-05-26T09:55:00.000+05:30

#322-1. The greatest folly of a man is being oblivious to all the changes happening around him.
-Anon

#322-2. Frustrations come because we impose our illusions on reality.
-Osho Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain), controversial Indian mystic and spiritual teacher (1931-1990)

(Thanks to Arun Wakhlu for sharing this.)

#322-3. In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
-Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

____
When we anticipate change and feel we are able to make sense of trends, we accept changes more readily and adapt faster. When surprised by a change we! go through an initial phase of anger and fear, wishing that there had been prior intimation and time for preparation. I have often discovered that there had been many clear signs of the impending change but I chose to ignore them or did not stay adequately alert. Deeper reflection also forces me to admit that I sometimes refused to think about certain aspects brought to my attention by events or other people.

Persisting with beliefs in the face of facts that seem to contradict those beliefs makes the inevitable adaptation more painful. Adopting a healthy questioning attitude and periodically re-examining our assumptions about our goals, constraints and resources is useful. A recent technique I am trying to apply is to deliberately seek out discussions with people with different opinions and beliefs, without necessarily debating nor agreeing with what they say but just listen with a view to enlarge my own perspectives—at the least it stretches my brain in new directions.

i-TFTD #321: On Interdependence and Courage to Change

2011-05-20T12:45:00.001+05:30

#321-1. This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in.
-Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (1858-1919)

#321-2. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.
-John Kennedy, 35th US President (1917-1963)

(Thanks to K Shailesh for sharing this.)

#321-3. We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
-Barack Obama, 44th US President (1961-)

____
Three important points, all relevant in a timeless kind of way: interdependence, change and courage. Interes! tingly, Obama has emphasized these three.

I was always deeply disappointed that while the world’s largest and multi-ethnic democracy (India) has had prime ministers and presidents who were women or belonging to minority groups such as dalits, Sikhs and Muslims, the world’s oldest and multi-ethnic democracy (America) did not seem to practise the diversity and inclusiveness that it preached. The swearing-in of the first ever black president of the USA was a heartening event. I was reminded of novels I read long ago, by Irving Wallace (The Man, about the first black president) and Jeffrey Archer (The Prodigal Daughter, about the first woman president). Yes, we can hope for better things.

i-TFTD #320: Change. Innovate. Refine.

2011-05-19T12:37:00.000+05:30

#320-1. The culture at Google and its link to the overall learning strategy has 4 main components: Innovation, Revenue, Culture and Employee Engagement ...to continue to keep Googlers, "Googly".
-Erica Fox, Head of Global Learning Programs of GoogleEdu

#320-2. Leaders create modes of stability and change. The former instills safety to refine; the latter reduces complacency.
-John Maeda, Japanese-American graphic designer, computer scientist, university professor and author (1966-)

#320-3. All the great people I know have been in the trenches for much of their lives, and their inventory of bruises outnumber the commendations they have received. The occasional commendations stay on the wall. It is the bruises that these people carry with pride.
-Subroto! Bagchi, co-founder of Mindtree (1957-)

____
Innovation, the practical application of ideas by people (as opposed to invention and creativity), has moved from buzzword to a core competency for organizations and employees at all levels. Even if I perceive myself to not be an ‘ideas person’ (whatever that means), I can play one of many valuable roles in innovation. Ideas need developed, evaluated against relevant criteria, marketed internally/externally and implemented with the associated project planning.

Out of the box thinking is necessary in times of rapid change. Effective leaders create change situations to tap into the creative talent of teams.

Change and innovation implicitly carry the risk of setbacks. The inevitable roadblocks and uncertainties are splendid opportunities to learn and gain—and to innovate.

i-TFTD #319: Laughter and Tears

2011-05-10T17:33:00.001+05:30

#319-1. I always knew looking back on my tears would bring me laughter, but I never knew looking back on my laughter would make me cry.
-Cat Stevens, stage name of Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou), English musician and philanthropist (1948-)

#319-2. The man who can make others laugh secures more votes for a measure than the man who forces them to think.
-Malcolm De Chazal, writer and painter (1902-1981)

#319-3. Laughter and tears are meant to turn the wheels of the same machinery of sensibility; one is wind-power, and the other water-power.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist and physician (1809-1894)

____
Children laugh and cry easily. Is it! a coincidence that they are also more creative, make friends easily and enjoy life more?

For too long the prevalent belief has been that a sense of humor is an optional personality trait that some people seem to have. Martin Seligman, eminent psychologist, realized at the age of 50 that he had been a grumpy person and that there are ways in which this can be unlearned. He went on to create positive psychology as a new branch of study.

Tears are associated with crying and pain but they are equally common in happy situations such as relief, gratitude and deep aesthetic appreciation.

i-TFTD #318: On Leaders as Teachers

2011-05-06T18:25:00.001+05:30

#318-1. True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.
-Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957)

#318-2. Difficult people are the greatest teachers.
-Pema Chodron, formerly known as Deirdre Blomfield-Brown, Tibetan Buddhist Bhikkuni and prolific author (1936-)

#318-3. When one teaches, two learn.
-Robert Half, recruiter (?)

____
Could be applied to true leaders, who should sincerely aspire to coach and groom their subordinates to levels beyond their own.

A difficult boss—a common complaint—can be seen as a teacher sent in your life in disguise! Difficult people in your team offer you opportunities to become a better leader.

It is surprising to find so many who are not conscious of the fact that teaching, training, coaching and grooming are an essential part of their roles as leaders.

i-TFTD #317: Examine and Reflect

2011-05-05T18:45:00.000+05:30

#317-1. Inquiry is fatal to certainty.
-Will Durant, historian (1885-1981)

#317-2. To repeat what others have said requires education, to challenge it, it requires brains.
-Mary Pettibone Poole, in her 1938 book 'A Glass Eye at a Keyhole'

#317-3. Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one's mind.
-William Somerset Maugham, writer (1874-1965)

____
Limited awareness makes us feel rigid and certain about what we know (and assume). Questioning brings uncertainty but that is the way to enlarge our understanding. It involves thinking work! The outcome of the increased knowledge should result in changing our stand when the answers to our questions are different to! our earlier beliefs. Senior executives underestimate the value of acknowledging an error in their judgment.

i-TFTD #316: Timely Tips

2011-04-27T16:40:00.000+05:30

This bonus edition of i-TFTD with quotes related to time was triggered by the recently concluded World Cup cricket when over a billion people spent hours and days watching a dozen or so men playing with a stick and a ball!

#316-1. Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.
-Jean de La Bruysre

#316-2. Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it, and spend it rather than invest it.
-Jim Rohn

#316-3. Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.
-Leonardo Da Vinci

#316-4. Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too s! hort for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.
-Henry Van Dyke

#316-5. One realizes the full importance of time only when there is little left of it. Every man's greatest capital asset is his unexpired years of productive life.
-P.W. Litchfield

#316-6. Many of us spend half our time wishing for things we could have if we didn't spend half our time wishing.
-Alexander Woollcott

#316-7. Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time.
-Stephen Swid

(Thanks to Prashant Varekar who shared three of the above quotes.)

____
Time is one of the few things that we perceive to be available in fixed quantity, non-stretchable and experience it moving in one direction always. I say ‘perceive’ because both from a scientific (Einsteinian) viewpoint and in a spiritual sense, time is not absolute. Ultimately time management is life management because it is either conscious or unthinking prioritization.

Most people have some paper-based or electronic To Do lists. A popular suggestion these days is to also have a Not To Do list (some call it To Don’t list or Stop Doing list). Feeling “crazy-busy” is a modern epidemic fueled by an always-connected, information-flooded environment. A couple of years ago I decided to stop regular watching of TV including CNBC and news channels. It turned out to be much easier than I thought and obviously freed up valuable minutes every day to spend with family, to read more or just relax without mental clutter.

Part of the trick of feeling in control is to accept that what we do spend time on every day or week is probably we do really care for at the moment. One needs to periodically balance between this basic self-acceptance and aspiring to do more.

i-TFTD #315: Strong, Positive Effort

2011-04-15T19:26:00.001+05:30

#315-1. There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.
-R. Buckminster Fuller

#315-2. Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

#315-3. Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether you are willing to pay the price to attain it--in hard work, sacrifice, patience, faith, and endurance.
-John C. Maxwell

_____
Good leaders must believe in the existence of unique talents in their subordinates. We must avoid labeling individuals based on their past performance in a given situation.

We need to at least believe in our own untapped potential! I! t is easy and popular to blame those around us and our circumstances. It appears harder but is more useful to examine if we can do something to achieve better success, if there are great things in ourselves and our lives that we are not utilizing.

Of course, achieving anything of value requires our effort, a willingness to step up and forward.

i-TFTD #314: On Criticism

2011-04-14T20:58:00.000+05:30

#314-1. Whining is a reverse placebo. When you get good at whining, you start noticing evidence that makes your whining more true.
-Seth Godin, Marketer and Author (1960-)

#314-2. Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.
-Gene Fowler, journalist and author (1890-1960)

#314-3. Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most fools do.
-Dale Carnegie, American self-improvement guru and author of 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' and other bestseller books (1888–1955)

____
Complaining about the right thing to the right person at the right time is neces! sary but whining is ineffective complaining. A related concept is escalation, an essential skill to possess in today’s system-driven, matrix-structured global organizations. Many people confuse the art of escalation with complaining. If you do not escalate a matter to your boss in time, you not only lose the defensive opportunity to protect your interest, but are shutting the door to obtaining a solution in a timely manner. If you escalate to someone else’s higher-ups you may temporarily make the person unhappy but you will generally find that in the long term it results in respect and responsiveness. This, of course, assumes that you have been fair and transparent in attempting to get a business objective met and resorted to escalation only when reasonable follow-ups did not yield timely response.

When we face criticism or opposition it is useful to consider what the other person wants instead of focusing on fighting the opposition per se.

One should guard ! against acquiring the reputation of being a whiner. A handy technique one manager I know uses to curb this tendency in his team is to tell them, “Come to me with any complaint or problem but state it and then give at least one possible solution or suggestion even if it requires someone else to do something.”

i-TFTD #313: Make Discomfort Your Friend

2011-04-08T16:44:00.001+05:30

#313-1. Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
-Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and thinker (1875-1961)

#313-2. In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong.
-John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006)

#313-3. Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation.
-Susan B. Anthony, reformer and suffragist (1820-1906)

____
Modern psychologists explain many characteristics of the human brain in terms of evolution. Nature is the ultimate designer that drives the basic survival instinct through efficiency and shortcuts. Our constant attempts to achieve a feeling of comfort could be seen as an outcome of this. Of course we intelligent beings know that long-term sustained comfort is often achieved at the cost of temporary discomfort but our day-to-day actions do not align with this wisdom. Deliberately seeking discomfort is a habit highly successful individuals seem to cultivate. A lot of creativity also emerges with such an attitude of stepping beyond the familiarity zone. Even the irritability caused by another person can be usefully deployed to derive learning value in terms of improving self-awareness.

i-TFTD #312: Ideas Need Action

2011-04-01T19:18:00.001+05:30

#312-1. What we think, or what we know, or what we believe, is in the end, of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do.
-John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (1819-1900)

#312-2. I do stuff. I respond to stuff. That's not a career—it’s a life!
-Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple (1955-)

#312-3. You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.
-Anon

____
These quotes are especially aimed at those of us who are idea generators, love conceptual thinking or like to do thorough pros-and-cons analysis. Highly action-oriented people should review this along with earlier posts such as On Effectiveness and Thinking, Thoughts on Thinking, On Intelligent Thinking, Thinking Deep and Wide and Degrees of Positive Thinking.

i-TFTD #311: Productive vs Reproductive Thinking

2011-03-25T17:18:00.000+05:30

How to See What’s Not There
Sunday, February 10, 2008
From the blog of Tim Hurson, author of Think Better (highlights mine)

The other day I participated in an innovation day for the supply chain management division of a large company. The morning was spent on several presentations about how the group had innovated over the past year. One of the major innovations was a regular meeting in which suppliers and customers could talk with one another.

Now, I think this is a great idea, and I'm sure it made thin! gs more efficient for everyone. But as good an idea as it is, a regular communication meeting is not breakthrough innovation.

I see this kind of thing a lot — companies patting themselves on the back for breakthrough innovations that are really incremental improvements. Incremental improvement is powerful and positive, but it's not the same as breakthrough innovation. Incremental change results from Reproductive Thinking. But for game changing innovation, you need Productive Thinking. Here's the difference:

Reproductive Thinking is a way to refine what's known. Think of continuous improvement, Six Sigma, or positive incremental change. It's what you need for ferreting out inefficiencies, improving quality, and ensuring consistent outcomes. Reproductive Thinking is characterized by what the Ja! panese call kaizen, or good change.

Productive Thinking is a way to generate the new. Think of big AHAs, eureka moments, and breakthrough change. It's what you need for seeding innovation, disrupting the marketplace, and changing the rules of the game. Productive Thinking is characterized by what I call tenkaizen, or good revolution.

Both types of thinking are useful, but if you want to create something truly new, Reproductive Thinking is the wrong tool. You need Productive Thinking.

When you were a kid, you probably had a thaumatrope. A thaumatrope isn’t a childhood disease; it’s a toy, popularized in Victorian England. It consists of a small disk with a picture on either side, mounted on string that lets you spin it. If you get the disk spinning fast enough, the two pictures merge. A common thaumatrope shows a bird on one side and an empty birdcage on the other. When you twirl the disk, you see the bird in the cage. Although there is no! actual picture of a bird in a cage, you see it as clear as can be. You see a picture of something that isn’t there.

Productive Thinking is like spinning a thaumatrope. It's a way of combining old ideas and insights to make something new.

Striving for reproductive efficiency is great. By all means, go for it. But don't think that's the same as game-changing innovation. You can't fool yourself into being innovative. You need to learn how to think productively.

____
Useful to distinguish between small continuous improvement and radical innovation. Both are necessary but their characteristics vary. Kaizen has to become a philosophy in our daily behavior in all spheres of life. I can decide that whatever I get involved in, I will leave my mark on it, it will be improved. Periodically one has to challenge the basic assumptions and think completely afresh rather than getting into a ! rut. Some of us are good at one and not the other so we have to borrow other people's inputs to manage around our limitation. Doing neither for a long time is bad, boring and a route to complacency and stagnation.

i-TFTD #310: On the Use of Data

2011-03-23T18:04:00.000+05:30

#310-1. If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.
-Ronald Coase, Nobel prize-winning British economist (1910-)

#310-2. Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than the exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.
-John W. Tukey, American statistician (1915 – 2000)

#310-3. The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession.
-Sherlock Holmes, brilliant fictional detective created in 1887 by Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish author and physician

____
Statistical methods can be misapplied to create the illusion of conclusive proof, especially due to the wide availabil! ity and ease of use of tools to make charts of various types. In recent years I have keenly followed the explosion of infographics and data visualization.

For any non-trivial issue, it is important to spend time in formulating the right question before jumping to finding answers or gathering data. Many creative thinking techniques rely on redefining the question or problem statement, which can lead to interesting new dimensions to explore to come up with innovative solutions.

An interesting tidbit about John Tukey: He is credited with coining the word "bit" as a contraction of binary digit and a handier alternative to bigit and binit! He also coined the term "software".

i-TFTD #309: Short Poems, Lingering Reflections

2011-03-16T14:58:00.000+05:30

#309-1. There are those who give little of the much which they have
And they give it for recognition.
There are those who have a little
And give it all.
It is well to give when asked,
But it is better to give unasked through understanding.
You often say I would give only to the deserving.
The trees in your orchard say not so,
Nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
-Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese American poet and writer (1883-1931)

#309-2. A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn't put there to stay
Love isn't love
Till you give it away.
-Oscar Hammerstein II, American playwright, lyricist and theatrical producer (1895-1960)

(Thanks to Maria Rodrigues for sharing this.)

#309-3. "Faith" is a fine invention
For gentlemen who see
But microscopes are prudent
In an emergency.
-Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886)

____
Most of us have experienced the deep sense of inner satisfaction when circumstances and intention let us be of some help to another person. But we get caught up in the ways of the world, fueled by aspirations, busily fulfilling our expanding needs and rationalize some of our behaviors as being smart and competitive. Some rediscover the joy of giving in the twilight years after moving out of the rat race.

Giving money or other material help is fine but even intangible giving can make a big difference. Give a word of appreciation—today.

The third quote is juxtaposed to avoid getting carried away in a touchy-feely way!

A logical rea! son for how we gain when we give was discussed in i-TFTD #15: The Law of Giving.

i-TFTD #308: Learning to Learn

2011-03-09T11:41:00.001+05:30

#308-1. I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.
-Khalil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931)

#308-2. The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.
-Antisthenes, Greek philosopher and pupil of Socrates, later regarded as the founder of Cynic philosophy (c. 445 BCE-365 BCE)

#308-3. There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
-Willa Cather, American author (1873-1947)

____
I heartily endorse the nomenclature change in many organizations of the erstwhile Training departments to Learning and Development. The focus shifts to the learner and expands the range of possibilities for the mode, place, time and style of learning. To someone who adopts a learner attitude, every situation offers the possibility of gaining knowledge. Reminds me of the ancient saint Dattatreya, who, when asked who was his teacher, is said to have replied that he had 24 teachers and proceeded to list them including a bird, an animal and elements of nature.

At a practical level it is important to unlearn or forget some past learning in order to facilitate the assimilation of newer facts and knowledge.

The last quote observes that while most things are best learnt in a conducive environment, some types of learning can only occur in the midst of a crisis. Think back to any high-pressure situation you have been a part of and I am sure you will glean some memorable insights. In a slightly different context, the Japanese way of understanding a problem begins with the remark, "Come to the Gemba!" (Gemba means the real place or the shopfloor.) Some aspects are revealed only in the gemba.

Learning has been a recurrent theme here in i-TFTD right from i-TFTD #4: April 2007 to learning from children, tips on continuous learning, learning from objects around the room and profound learning.

i-TFTD #307: What Mature Leaders Do

2011-03-09T11:40:00.001+05:30

#307-1. Longing for the ideal while criticizing the real is evidence of immaturity; Settling for the real without striving for the ideal is complacency; Whereas maturity is actually living with the tension.
-Rick Warren

#307-2. To be a leader is to take responsibility for outcomes... good, bad or indifferent. This, more than any other characteristic or trait, is the mark of a leader.
-Thomas D. Willhite

#307-3. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
-John Quincy Adams

_____
"Don't be idealistic" dismissively advises my pragmatist colleague.

"Think beyond the current reality" exhorts my boss.

My brain churns out inspiring visions while a pile of immediate To Dos stare at me and the same brain finds reasons why something is impractical when an eager subordinate suggests a new idea.

The first quote above brilliantly explains the contradictions—no easy resolution.

The second and third quotes highlight important attributes of leadership: sense of ownership and positively influencing other people. These have very little to do with one's position, title, age or experience.

i-TFTD #306: Leaders Lead People

2011-03-09T11:39:00.001+05:30

Here’s a bonus edition of i-TFTD along with a resolve to share more thought-provoking content in this coming year.

#306-1. Too many bosses use "brainstorming meetings" to conduct "blamestorms" where the goal is to point fingers, humiliate the guilty, and throw a few overboard.
-Shyamal Majumdar in his article, Are you a control freak? in Business Standard in Sep-2010

#306-2. If executives aren't making mistakes, they aren't taking enough risks.
-Anne Mulcahy, former CEO and Chair of Xerox (1952-)

#306-3. All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.
-John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006)

#306-4. If businesses managed their money as carelessly as they manage their people, most would be bankrupt.
-Ram Charan (1939-) and Bill Conaty in their book, The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers

#306-5. Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.
-Tom Peters, American management author (1942-)

#306-6. No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.
-Halford E. Luccock, American Methodist minister (1885–1961)

____
We have discussed before the essentiality of allowing mistakes and encouraging risk-taking in the business environment. The shift from the word management to leadership in the past few decades is probably due to the recognition of the responsibility that leaders have, to focus on developing people, identifying and nurturing the next set of leaders.

i-TFTD #305: Sher Arz Hai

2010-12-28T18:32:00.001+05:30

This i-TFTD owes to the contributions of Shuja Rahman. I envy people like Shuja (and Lax) who can quote an apt sher (shayari is a form of rhyming couplets usually in Urdu) in any situation.

Khiradmandon se kya poochhoon ke meri ibteda kya hai
Ke main is fikr mein rahta hoon meri inteha kya hai
(roughly translated as:
Why should I ask the wise, "Whence have I come?"
I am concerned with the thought, "What will be my end!")
-Sir Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Persian and Urdu poet, philosopher and politician from the Indian subcontinent (1877-1938)

Kaun kehta hai ke maut aayi to mar jaoonga
Main to dariya hoon samandar mein utar jaaonga
(roughly translated as:
Who says that when death comes I shall be no more?
I am a river, I shall descend into the ocean.)
-Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, legendary Urdu and English language Pakistani poet, journalist and author (1916–2006)

Partav-e-khur se hai shabnam ko fana'a ki taaleem
Main bhi hoon ik inaayat ki nazar hone tak
(roughly translated as:
From the sun's light the dew drop gets its education/end
I, too, await to receive the favor of a glance.)
-Mirza (Asadullah Baig Khan) Ghalib, classical Urdu and Persian poet from the Indian subcontinent (1797-1869)

____
These philosophical couplets have significant application in organizational change situations.

Instead of clinging to the past, one could focus on the future and what needs to be done. Vague apprehensions and fears hinder clear thinking and paralyze activity, with self-confidence one can face the uncertain future and be assured of finding one's growth path. Change and growth are natural processes, some pain and letting go is needed to usher in better circumstances.

i-TFTD #304: Activity is Not Always Action

2010-12-17T18:42:00.000+05:30

#304-1. Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active.
-Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519)

#304-2. A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.
-Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (1802-1885)

#304-3. Voices of philosophy, poetry and imagery are relatively weak in a world that largely assumes that only science and reason speak with true authority. Yet that very authority suggests that there are many problems better served by slower, more intuitive thinking, rather than the linear, logical process.
-Prof. Guy Claxton, British cognitive scientist and expert on learning, in his book, "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind" (1947-)

____
The frenzy of continuous information consumption is a peculiar affliction of the past decade, thanks to the proliferation of a globally interconnected media streaming through multiple devices and channels. This has definitely dented our ability to pay sufficient attention to certain things that require more than a glance and an instant conclusion. Important decisions and actions need to be preceded by assimilation and reflection. Constant input itself induces stress. If you have ever watched TV, surfing channels hoping to find something worthwhile and then suddenly realized you have spent much more time than you thought, and feel irritated, you know what I am talking about. Or if you hear some fact or concept that everyone around you seems to know but you haven’t heard about it and feel you are losing touch on the subject.

Efficiency techniques and smart aggregating tools help to some extent as do relaxation methods. Unfortunately our leisure times are also invaded by screens for reading or playing! I mentioned the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr in i-TFTD #240: On Patience. Carr went on to expand his views into a book titled, “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains”.

i-TFTD #303: Beware of Too Much Respect for Authority

2010-12-07T17:41:00.000+05:30

#303-1. Some people have so much respect for their superiors they have none left for themselves.
-Anon

(Thanks to K. Shailesh for sharing this.)

#303-2. Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
-Albert Einstein

#303-3. I do not look to authority for truth (reality), but look to truth (reality) for authority.
-Yoshida Kenji Sensei

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Respect for elders has been identified as one of the core values of Indian and other Asian societies. The suffix '-ji' in Hindi and '-san' in Japanese are used even when the conversation is in English. While this may be a good thing by itself in keeping society together and in preserving cultural traditions, it ca! n also clash with the innovative, questioning mindset needed in a meritocratic, excellence-oriented, multi-cultural business organization.

Some may look at this quote and think about rebels and those who challenge their manager or government or any prevailing institution of power. This is one correct interpretation. It could also be extended to other situations. Authority could mean any set of beliefs I hold on to. It could be what I have unconsciously imbibed in childhood from parents, forgetting that my parents, of a different generation, brought me up in a different era. It could be the conveniently like-minded views of admirers I tend to surround myself with. It could be based on a single first-hand experience I have had, ignoring many contrary experiences of others.

It is a good habit to assess whether authority represents a higher truth or wisdom. It often does but in those cases when authority implies blind adherence to past practices, we must step up and initi! ate change. Early experience in this helps, that is why rebels and non-conformists have an advantage in today's world.

i-TFTD #302: We Are Limited by the Thoughts We Choose

2010-12-06T13:59:00.001+05:30

Here's a (verified true) story about George Dantzig, the mathematician whose significant contributions to Operations Research and systems engineering have made him famous.

One morning in 1939, as a college student at Berkeley, George arrived late for Prof. Jerry Neyman's statistics class. He quickly copied the two problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on Neyman's desk the next day.

Six weeks later, on a Sunday morning, George was visited by his excited professor, announcing the acceptance of a paper based on his proof! Since George was late for class, he had not heard the professor announce that the two unsolved equations on ! the board were mathematical mind-teasers that experts had not yet cracked.

But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for years.

Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't. You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you're capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how.

A person is limited only by the thoughts that s/he chooses.

(Thanks to Sebin Thomas for sharing this.)

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When we do not know that something is difficult (or impossible) that mindset itself somehow makes us approach it in a more effective manner. It is why Richard Bach's little 1970 storybook, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, still sells and inspires millions. Unfortunately our increased knowledge of any subject often makes us more aware of what is not possible. The challenge is to imbibe a positive belief that goes against the known facts. Successful salespeople and ambitious sportspersons know the trick.

i-TFTD #301: On Reading

2010-12-03T18:20:00.000+05:30

#301-1. Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines.
-Margaret Millar, novelist (1915-1994)

#301-2. The point of reading is to make us feel less alone and less confused.
-Alain de Botton, author of The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

#301-3. The fellow reads so much I don't see how he could ever find the time to know anything.
-Anthony De Mello, One Minute Wisdom

____
Is there such a thing as being too clever? There is such a thing as showing to be too clever for your own good in a situation. The tendency to overcomplicate has to be guarded against by clever people if they wish to become very clever.

Reading and discussion almost always! reveals that our so-called unique pressures and problems are experienced by others.

Gathering new knowledge and ideas should not become an obsession by itself, one should balance it with reflection, assimilation and application. (Full Disclosure: I know this is sound advice, I cannot claim to be practising it.)

i-TFTD #300: On Resisting Machination

2010-12-01T15:06:00.001+05:30

#300-1. (By 2015) there will be less distinction between business and technology than there's ever been. We'll have gone from business technology alignment to business technology convergence in just a few short decades.
-Steve Andriole in the Cutter Consortium report titled, 'Enterprise 3.0: How IT's All Going to Change'

#300-2. Autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying.
-Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers (2008)

#300-3. As long as we respond predictably to what feels good and what feels bad, it is easy for others to exploit our preferenc! es for their own ends.
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990)

____
Even in the 21st century, there are some, like Nicholas Carr, who tend to look at information technology as a mere efficiency boosting infrastructural aid. They do not subscribe to Toffler’s views or Negroponte’s assessment of the shift from atoms to bits.

Technology systems do bring new problems, one of which is that they seize control of many of the activities that were traditionally the domain of human beings. This ought to push us to more creative pursuits, designing newer ways to ensure the well being of the ecology that we are part of.

We need to choose how to respond, based not only on how we feel but what the consequences of our responses are.

i-TFTD #299: Former CEOs Dispense Wisdom

2010-11-25T17:57:00.001+05:30

#299-1. Leaders who execute, focus on a very few clear priorities that everyone can grasp. A leader who says "I've got ten priorities" doesn't know what he's talking about—he doesn't know himself what the most important things are.
-Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, in their book, Execution

#299-2. A CEO's job is to interpret external realities for a company.
-A. G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter and Gamble

#299-3. It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure—or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success.
-Thomas J. Watson, Former CEO of IBM

____
Leaders who, by definition, are at a higher vantage point, need to share useful perspectives with their teams that helps the team perform better. It is the leader's job to crystallize the relevant key aspects of the barrage of dynamic information from the environment and spell out a simple vision for everyone to work toward.

Increasing the top line, improved profitability, higher customer satisfaction, better quality, innovation on products or services... when would an organization not want to pursue all these objectives? But if all of them are stated as important, they become platitudes. Effective leaders identify the need of the hour and articulate in a memorable manner to energize the workforce to attain ambitious goals in that direction.

In the quest for higher levels of performance, mistakes are an essential part of the process. Bill Gates and Tom Peters among others ! have emphatically pointed out the need for companies to foster a culture of trying out things that may not succeed the first time.

i-TFTD #298: Change How We Face

2010-11-17T19:30:00.000+05:30

#298-1. If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.
-John "Jack" Welch (1935-), former chairman and CEO of General Electric

#298-2. Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.
-James Baldwin (1924–1987), African-American writer

#298-3. Events are not predictable, but consequences are, so focus on preparedness.
-Nassim Nicholas Taleb (1960-), Lebanese essayist and practitioner of mathematical financial economics, author of "The Black Swan" and "Fooled by Randomness"

____
There is a certain type of openness and generic flexibility that can help cope with unpredictable situations in a better manner than if one were rigid. This rigidity could be inertia or it could manifest as overconfidence on one's assessment of scenarios. One trick is self-induced change in the spirit of one of the quotes from i-TFTD in June 2008: It is necessary to change before change becomes necessary.

i-TFTD #297: Serve, Act and Learn

2010-11-15T18:04:00.000+05:30

#297-1. The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.
-Albert Einstein

#297-2. How you live one day is eventually how you live your life.
-Phillip Yancey

#297-3. The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.
-Flora Whittemore

____
The first quote can be applied by managers in how they see their role in leading a team. In today's world, seeing yourself as the "rajah" or "rani" of your team is not only useless, it is invalid and harmful. If I adopt the view that my role is to serve the team by removing obstacles, leading from the front by example, using my experience to coach and groom my subordinates, I would find it easier to earn respect and cooperation in achieving the common goal. A somewhat old concept called "Servant Leadership" is actually gaining popularity these days.

Too many of our good intentions and thoughts to improve ourselves and the situation get bogged down in trying to achieve grand goals. Just getting started and doing what is possible today will pave the path to bigger progress.

"Open door" and "close door" can be taken literally, but can also be applied to new ideas, people, thoughts, feelings… Open is not always better than close, being conscious of the process is better than operating out of habit.

i-TFTD #296: Dead Evidence

2010-11-12T20:15:00.000+05:30

This is an interesting snippet from a short piece at BusinessPundit.com written by Rob May in July 2007 titled
What Bullet Holes in Airplanes Can Teach You About Making Better Business Decisions

During World War II, statistician Abraham Wald tried to determine where to add extra armor to airplanes. Based on the patterns of bullet holes in returning airplanes, he suggested that the parts not hit should be protected with extra armor. Why?

Wald was looking at what is sometimes called "dead evidence." He reasoned like this... if these planes are returning, we know that if they are hit in the spots they have been hit, they can still fly. The planes that did not return must have been hit in different places. So put the extra armor wherever the returning planes were not hit.

I think most people would have a natural inclination to put the armor where the returning planes had been hit. The real answer is simple, but counterintuitive. It's called "dead evidence" because it is what people ignore when they make these judgments.

(Thanks to Ramanan Jagannathan for sharing this.)

_____
Many creative thinking techniques involve consciously inverting our view, looking at the opposite of the normal, imagining upside down and inside out. Could be applied in any situation where we want to get new ideas and insights.
Examples:
-Attrition is a concern in any company, instead of only looking at exit interviews to analyze why leavers are leaving, find out why stayers are staying and strengthen those attributes in the company
-Everyone seems to be buying a brand or investing in some asset, instead of finding reasons for that, analyze the reasons why others are not buying that.

i-TFTD #295: On Problem-Solving Attitude

2010-11-11T11:40:00.000+05:30

#295-1. Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.
-H.R. McMaster, Brigadier General, US Army, Iraq War veteran (b. 1962), talking about the overuse of PowerPoint presentations

#295-2. No great programmer is sitting there saying, 'I'm going to make a bunch of money,' or 'I'm going to sell a hundred thousand copies.' Because that kind of thought gives you no guidance about the problems.
-Bill Gates

#295-3. I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.
-Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)

____
Not only is Death by Powerpoint a malaise of the times, there seems to be a general aversion to depth and nuance. Many so-called good managers tend to quickly list short conclusions and push for action items to assign to an SPC (single point of contact). Is it only me or have you noticed the irony of rapid multiplication of SPCs?

Simon Sinek, author of Start with the Why, would probably say that making money is the What and selling copies is the How but the Why is more important. Yes, there are critics of his oversimplified arguments, his force-fitting of examples like Apple to his theory and his expansion of a simple message into a Why University but his emphasis on the importance of purpose is valid.

Almost any problem can benefit from a scientific approach, even in intangible realms like spirituality. All my favorite gurus of the beyond, The Buddha, Adi Shankara, Ramana Maharishi and Anthony Demello, endorsed questioning and thinking through for oneself. Though I have not read him much, probably because of the bias instilled long ago by the Indian press about his huge Rolls Royce collection and activities in his Pune ashram, Osho Rajneesh seems to have propagated the same.

i-TFTD #294: On the Difficulty of Change

2010-11-03T12:13:00.000+05:30

#294-1. The inability to change is the inability to reckon with reality.
-Stefan Rudolph

#294-2. Obstinacy is the result of the will forcing itself into the place of the intellect.
-Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860)

#294-3. The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly.
-Ogden Nash, author (1902-1971)

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Reality is change—every moment.At multiple levels. Our mind recognizes this, and wants to adapt suitably but another part, the individual-centric ego, wants to hold on to something, anything. It manufactures vague threatening images of losing out, which obscures reality. We have to open the door inwards to let the light of facts illuminate through the fog of fear.

i-TFTD #293: Thus Spake the Johns

2010-11-02T16:14:00.000+05:30

#293-1. When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
-John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (1819-1900)

#293-2. Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
-John Wooden, American basketball coach (1910-2010)

#293-3. The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money.
-John Henry Jowett, preacher (1864-1923)

____
Building skills to hone the areas of our natural passion is easier and helps achieves excellence faster. Observe how different individuals learn at varying speeds in a training program. Your own rapid learning is an important clue to the areas where you can develop strengths.

Money and fame are useful indicators of our realizing our potential but there are more important things that endure. One should not make these milestones the goal of the journey.

i-TFTD #292: Back without a Bang

2010-10-29T15:19:00.000+05:30

Yes, I have been off the network for months and i-TFTD stopped. Now it’s back. Thanks for your patience and polite enquiries.

#292-1. Managers may be afraid to embrace simplicity. In business we are all scared of being called "too simple." People confuse simplicity, which is hard to achieve, with simplistic, which is easy and usually lacking value. When in doubt, a manager may add a layer of complexity where it is not needed just to be safe. It takes courage to be simple.
-Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen

#292-2. McKinsey reported in 1999 that there is a war for talent that would continue for the next 50 years. But in my opinion it's already over. Talent won; we lost. We as employers are battling against some dire demographic trends.
-Lance J. Richards, senior director, Kelly Services at the World Human Resources Congress in Sep-2010

#292-3. A 2009 study tracking over 3,000 men/women for 10 years found that those with bad bosses suffered 20 to 40 per cent more heart attacks than those with good bosses.
-Shyamal Majumdar in his article, Are you a control freak? in the Business Standard dated Sep. 17, 2010

____
We discussed earlier the importance of distinguishing between simplistic and simple. Simplicity is hard to achieve because it takes effort to simplify without sacrificing essential content.

The HR fraternity and managers in general need to change their focus from “How do we retain the talent needed to achieve our objective?” to “What does the new generation workforce seek, and what are their capabilities?”

Do we really need detailed research reports to know the importance of not being bad bosses?

i-TFTD #291: On Using the Intelligence Asset

2010-07-06T17:33:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #291: On Using the Intelligence Asset

#291-1. Intelligence is when you spot a flaw in your boss's reasoning. Wisdom is when you refrain from pointing it out.
-James Dent

#291-2. Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much.
-Walter Lippmann

#291-3. In an information economy, the most valuable company assets drive themselves home every night. If they are not treated well, they do not return the next morning.
-Peter Chang

____
Catching someone make a mistake, whether boss or spouse or subordinate, and not pointing it out… how many of us have that kind of self-control over temptation? Of course, the advice to refrain from pointing out is probably intended in a light vein and not to be taken as serious advice.

Thinking differently from the crowd is an essential quality for any leader. Conformity can never produce excellence.

Treating employees well is often mistaken as granting privileges or ignoring wrong behaviour. Fair, consistent and transparent application of policies and practices, however strict, gives better results.

i-TFTD #290: On Acting Out of the Box

2010-07-02T09:47:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #290: On Acting Out of the Box

#290-1. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
-Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

#290-2. Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
-Dale Carnegie, pioneering self-help author of How to Win Friends and Influence People and other books (1888–1955)

(Thanks to K Shailesh for sharing this.)

#290-3. Confidence is an internal state that is made up of perceiving the risk, experiencing the fear, and overcoming the fear in order to take action.
-Anon

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Dare to think original thoughts that are different from others and commit to acting in accordance with your thoughts with confidence in your ability to think and act. Even if the intended results are not guaranteed, personal growth is.

i-TFTD #289: The Dictionary Continues to Inspire

2010-06-30T18:03:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #289: The Dictionary Continues to Inspire

Continuing the popular Learning from the Dictionary series (available here, here and here):

overslaugh (o-vuhr-slaw), verb tr.
-To pass over someone in favor of another, as in a promotion
-To bar or to hinder

Simon Legree (SY-muhn li-GREE), noun
-A harsh taskmaster
After Simon Legree, a brutal slave dealer in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe)

prolix (pro-LIKS, PRO-liks), adjective
-Tediously wordy
From Latin prolixus (extended, poured), from liquere (to flow), which is also the source of words such as liquid, liquor, licorice. Now you see the connection—why consuming liquor makes people prolix!

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Trust I am not being prolix in suggesting managers to get work done without always being a Simon Legree, else they risk being overslaughed.

i-TFTD #288: Colors of the Wind

2010-06-21T11:44:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #288: Colors of the Wind

Colors of the Wind (song from Disney's Pocahontas)

You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places
I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see
If the savage one is me
how can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know ...

You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind

(Thanks to R Raghavendran for sharing this. He recommends reading this along with listening to the song, available on various sites.)

_____
The three highlighted portions are powerful statements, all directly applicable to leadership situations.

i-TFTD #287: On Choosing Dots to Connect

2010-06-17T09:52:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #287: On Choosing Dots to Connect

#287-1. You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success—or are they holding you back?
-W. Clement Stone

#287-2. You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.
-Adlin Sinclair

#287-3. How we choose what we do, and how we approach it... will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art.
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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The advice embodied in these three quotes, in this order, can be a powerful technique to apply. We do not pay much attention to what is around us: the people, values, culture, facilities, sounds, sights and smells we surround ourselves with can have a subtle but steady influence on our moods.

Our maturity is in overcoming any negative effects of our environment through what we decide to focus upon. If we tend to magnify the negative, there always seems to be enough of it. I can train myself to magnify the possibilities, which impels me into positive action. This, in turn, may influence changes in my environment.

If we are able to acquire the habit to do these things regularly, our activities and progress can attain a coherence, can lead to a bigger vision. This is what Steve Jobs and others call “connecting the dots”.

i-TFTD #286: Be Unique and Forgive-worthy

2010-06-16T15:12:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #286: Be Unique and Forgive-worthy

#286-1. Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.
-Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)

#286-2. A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain.
-Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

#286-3. I have never gone to sleep with a grievance against anyone. And, as far as I could, I have never let anyone go to sleep with a grievance against me.
-Abba Agathon, monk (4th/5th century)

____
As filmmaker Warren Miller put it, "You are a unique person, just like everybody else!"

It shocks me how many intelligent people waste their energy on past wrongs, imagined slights and confrontations already dealt with. I had planned to narrate a sad story as example but I forget what it was. A bad memory is a blessing in this context.

The monk's credo seems simple but it is certainly not easy to do, especially the second part.

i-TFTD #285: Short Poetic Inspiration

2010-06-15T11:48:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #285: Short Poetic Inspiration

#285-1. I am myself
when I'm alone
but I need you
with me
to be the myself
that I like better.
-'Company' by Ramya Sriram, Indian poet (1988-)

#285-2. Come to the edge, he said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came. He pushed them,
And they flew..."
-Christopher Logue, English poet (1926-) but often wrongly attributed to Guillaume Apollinaire, pseudonym of Italian-born French poet Wilhelm Albert Vladimir Apollinaris Kostrowitzky (1880-1918)

(Thanks to Charushila Dhote for sharing this.)

#285-3. Along this tree
From root to crown
Ideas flow up
And vetoes down.
-A senior executive, quoted by Peter Drucker

____
This tiny poem resonated with me instantly because I have struggled to express the thought, in different contexts, that we as living beings, have to aspire to change in the quest to be better. Yes, self-acceptance is a useful and sometimes necessary act, but it is a temporary tool, not a licence for complacency, stubbornness and a general mental laziness.

From big, bold steps taken by creative visionaries to entrepreneurial chutzpah to small daily acts we may dare to do (like speaking in front of an audience for the first time or confronting someone at work), we all know the need to take that step but hesitate based on imagined consequences.

In the organizational context, courage is needed not only to express new ideas but to listen to opposing views and evaluate them dispassionately.

i-TFTD #284: Navigating Change

2010-06-10T17:10:00.000+05:30

i-TFTD #284: Navigating Change

#284-1. Either you're an agent of change, or you're destined to become a victim of change. You simply can't survive over the long term if you insist on standing still.
-Norm Brodsky, entrepreneur

#284-2. If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going.
-Irwin Corey, comedian

#284-3. It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
-Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse

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Methink in today's world, even standing still does not feel like standing still! Even if we intellectually accept the need for initiating and being a part of change, actually practising it in the middle of uncertainty, ambiguity and unknown parameters is mighty tough. I am often struck by how, those who are highly effective when things are going well, suddenly seem to appear incompetent and even incoherent in the face of unexpected circumstances.

To be able to navigate change, one needs to cultivate a sense of playfulness, an experimental attitude and self-confidence anchored on fundamental principles.